Little Creek Calls

I wish I was going hunting turkey already. April 15th can't get here soon enough. Have a great trip Bill, look forward to hearing about your hunt when you get back.

If your son drew a designated youth hunt the charge would only be $50 ($63-$13 app fee). It should be a regular season tag if the charge is $135.

It would not have been our year either but my dad is getting older and wanted to hunt so I found the best unit that we could make the bonus pass on. If we would have put in for our normal choices we would have been waiting another 5+ years for the bonus pass.

After 20+ years of waiting finally $180 pending charge. My dad and I are going Antelope hunting. I was pretty sure we would make the bonus pass for the unit we put in for but you never know.

Brian is that a archery or muzzleloader 3B elk tag? Congratulations.

I looked into doing a seminar in Tucson a few years ago. I found out that the local Southern Arizona chapter of the NWTF puts on a seminar at the Tucson Sportsman’s each year. I have some good friends from that chapter and it should be a great seminar. I will check the dates and try to attend, I always enjoy learning something new and seeing different methods of teaching and presenting on turkey hunting. Next year when scheduling my Mesa Seminar I will request a Saturday to accommodate those who want to attend from out of town.

I went to the NWTF convention in 2012 my first time competing in the call making contest. I had a great time at the convention and in Nashville. I want to go back each year but it hasn't worked out. As far as how I did the only thing I know is I didn't win. I got a letter in the mail the other day thanking me for participating and it said there were 970 calls entered this year. Anyways yes I do sell strikers individually. I will bring a bunch when I come next month. I look forward to meeting you and hearing a few more of your hunting stories and seeing some of your trophy's.

I just finished up and sent out the call that is headed for the annual national call making contest at the NWTF convention. It is a mesquite call with glass soundboard and Crystal calling surface. The striker has a mesquite head with rosewood dowel.

I would enjoy it if you came and shared a few things. I have learned a thing or two from every seminar I have attended or taught.

Just a quick reminder, my seminar in St George, UT is this Saturday. Saturday March 21st 2015, 10:00 AM – 11:30AM at the St George, Utah Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Here are the calls I just finished for the Yavapai Yelpers 2015 Banquet in Prescott this coming Saturday 3/14. I will be attending and look forward to meeting some of you. There is a lot of history in the wood used for these calls. The box call body is pecan from Chandler, az and the lid and base plate are Ash from a 90 year old tree from a old house near downtown Phoenix. The pot call is Alligator Juniper wood from around Payson, AZ. The tree was cut in the 1980's illegally. Those who cut the tree were caught and the tree was taken and cut into lumber. The calling surface is black anodized aluminum. The striker head is made from Teak wood salvaged from homes destroyed by a 7.2 earthquake on the island Bohol in the Philippines in 2013. The striker rod is Bacote.

This alone time you speak of is because the hens are leaving the tom to lay an egg each day in there chosen nesting area. They will lay one egg each day and catch up with the flock in mid to late afternoon until they have a full clutch of eggs and start sitting full time to start incubation. This a good tip and I have killed quite a few turkeys during this time. Most hunters are back in camp eating breakfast.

4% For each early elk hunt 1% for lope 15% and 24% for the jr's tags Really? only 4% for the early rifle bull with 14 points? I dont know anyone with that many points that has been putting in For the early rifle hunt in 10 last year 4 applicants had 20 points, 10 had 19 points, 39 had 18 points, 45 had 17 points, 61 had 16 points, 65 had 15 points, 72 had 14 points and 103 people had 13 points just like you last year. There are only 20 tags for the bonus pass so I only see the bonus pass number creeping up by the time you get there. Last year and this year the 100% draw odds bonus pass number should be 19 points. 22 N looks a little better as far as the number of applicants in front of you so the bonus pass shouldn’t creep up by the time you get there but there are only 6 bonus pass tags. It should still be 18 points with 2 tags going to 17 point holders this year if the trend continues.

Has anyone hunted them in 13B? I saw them in the unit report but that's a long ways to go for a pig.

I would look for a guide that spends a lot of time in your area. Timberland Outfitters is a sponsor on this site and frequently guides in 12A and offers turkey hunts. They would be my recommendation.

The reason in starting this poll was not to start an argument between bow hunters and rifle hunters. It was not to see who made the longest or most ethical kill. The reason I did this poll and just for one year is I wanted to see what the most effective range for shooting coues deer was for 2014. As I thought might be the case the numbers show 200 to 500 yards to be that vulnerable range for coues deer. I tried to hunt for closer shots like mule deer for a few years but found myself not skilled enough and going unsuccessful. The past few years I have tried for the 200 to 500 yard range and have been able to kill 3 years in a row. I wanted to see if it was just me or if others hunting numbers supported my thoughts on yardage. Sure there might be a few that are better stalkers and hunters and get closer and there will be a few who have invested the money into equipment that can constantly kill deer at 600 + yards and those who get lucky with the occasional long shot. Archery hunters have different seasons that make closer shots more possible and also make it harder to compare to rifle seasons. Thanks to everyone for participating and commenting. It gives me a better idea on how to practice for my next hunt and how far I can close the distance to before my chances for success will start declining.

Turkey seem to be constantly moving throughout the year with the best available food source for each season. The only time they seem to slow down there roost movement and hold to a tighter more consistent pattern is in the spring when the hens start laying eggs and need to visit there nesting grounds each day to lay eggs. I have seen it quite a few different years in the areas I hunt that in March most of the birds will not be in the same areas that you will find them in during the hunt. Last year I went to several roost areas in March to get some pictures of trees and sign for my seminars and the birds and the sign were nowhere to be found. A month later in April we killed opening morning and seemed to find turkey and sign everywhere. There always seems to be a few that lag behind so if you do go out in March and see a bunch in a particular area keep it in the back of your mind as a backup place to check out if things don’t go as planned. Just don’t have that as your plan A would be my suggestion. Thanks for posting those PDF's CouesPursuit I look forward to reading when I have more time.

I will take the desk. It wont be used for writing but will make a good mouth call assembly station. It will be nice to separate mouth call assembly from my roll top fly tying station.

If lucky2hunt doesn't want your missing bladder float tube then I will take it. I have the same one I use for backpacking fly fishing trips but my friends always get stuck trying to fish from shore.

Looks like I will be helping out with a calling seminar at Cabelas in Glendale on Saturday March 14th at 1pm. As I understand it the seminar will be followed by a calling contest with gift cards supplied by Cabelas for prizes in three categories, experienced novice and kids. There will be two or three of us doing the seminar and the calling contest. There will also be two more seminars on Sunday the 15th at 1pm on calling and at 2pm on scouting. I will not be able to make it on Sunday so they will be taught by other members of the NWTF. Also just a reminder for my other two seminars. Saturday March 21st 2015, 10:00 AM – 11:30AM at the St George, Utah Sportsman’s Warehouse. Thursday April 9th 2015, 6:00PM – 8PM at the Mesa, Arizona Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Like AZ41mag mentioned, If you need to trim the tape to get the call to fit better in your mouth do it. It should not affect the call just the way it fits in your mouth. When I am making mouth calls the latex reeds are stretched clamped and then cut at the edge of the frame before applying the tape. The tape does not hold the tension on the latex reeds, the frame does. If you bend or change the frame then you will be changing the tension on the reeds and changing the sound off the call.

Condition your slate with a small square of scotch-brite pad. You can get it at the grocery store on the cleaning isle just cut the big pad into smaller easier to use squares. When using it just go side to side in one direction not circular. When using the call use the striker on the call perpendicular to the direction you ran the scotch-brite. It can also help to lightly sand the striker tip. As far as mouth call recommendations it will be easier to learn on a 2 reed call and one without a lot of complex cuts. Once you get that figured out then move on to the more complex calls. A general rule for using mouth calls is the cut reeds or the longest reeds go up toward the roof of your mouth allowing them to vibrate and not against your tongue. If you are looking for some more training with calls come check out my seminar in April at Mesa Sportsmans. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/55284-turkey-hunting-and-calling-seminars-2015/

Jim Warren is a great guy and is experienced in real estate and lives and works in Pinetop. If I was selling something in the white mountains I would call him first.

I became friends with Jim Warren back when he was the state regional director for the NWTF. He is a great guy with a lot of knowledge. Should be a great seminar.

I had the good experience of spending a few days out hunting with friends and family. The rut seemed to be picking up more each day. We saw bigger bucks making rubs and chasing does. I glassed the buck I ended up taking first thing on Saturday morning chasing three does. I would like to thank Vowell, Singleshot, Jacob and Sean for all their help.